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Insured, But At What Cost? Unpacking International Student Healthcare Costs At Concordia Ireland Compton @irelandcompton
Graphic Ireland Compton
Graphics Paul Newcombe
Since Pauline Bosteels first came to Concordia from France to study international business in 2014, she’s encountered a number of issues with the university. First with the credit system, then with a program transfer, and finally with the international student health plan. “I just felt like the administration was not trying to help us, but going against education,” she said. As of 2019-2020, Concordia’s mandatory international student healthcare plan costs international students $1,176 annually—making it the most expensive plan in Canada. Covered by Blue Cross, like other universities in Montreal, Concordia’s plan is more expensive than the rest by nearly $100. This, for roughly the same amount and in some cases, even less coverage. There is no universal plan set out by Quebec’s government to cover all universities in the province. Each university negotiates its own plan with one of two insurance providers—Blue Cross and Sun Life—with the exception of Université Laval, Université de Montréal, Université de Sherbrooke, and Université de Québec who negotiate a group coverage plan under Desjardins. Under regulations set out by the Quebec Ministry of Immi-
gration, Diversity and Inclusion and the Ministry of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, all international students must be covered by a healthcare plan that meets government standards for the duration of their stay in Canada. But with rising international tuition, and the most expensive healthcare plan in the country, Concordia is putting its international students in financial jeopardy. “The first year, I remember I paid $800. The second year I paid like $1000, it just increased more and more,” said Bosteels. “It was just so expensive, and now it’s my last semester [...] I have to pay $1,200 and I only have one class.” These high prices can negatively impact students even beyond the financial side of things. Financial stress can put a strain on academic performance, and failure to pay up on time can prevent students from participating in exactly the things the university encourages them to participate in. “I don’t have help from my parents, so it puts another $1,000 [on my plate],” Bosteels said. “I had this class in accounting and I failed it like three times. Because I had this financial stress, it prevented me from really focusing on that class, which
I have to pass and it’s a vicious cycle for me.” To add to this stress, Bosteels said she had to overcome roadblocks placed in front of her when attempting to go on exchange in Spain. Given that she was unable to pay for her semester on time, a hold was placed on her account and she was unable to access documentation required for her to complete her registration process for the exchange. “I couldn’t access my [transcript], so I couldn’t send it to Spain on time,” she explained. “I had to contact the Dean to get a letter so I could go and study abroad, and all of this because of a hold on my account because I had like $500 to pay.” “I felt that this was unfair and counter to what they want us to do,” she continued. “They say ‘Do it, but at the same time, don’t do it because you have something to pay.’” But, why are Concordia’s rates for international students so high when its resident student healthcare plan is among the least expensive? To start, the domestic student healthcare plan is kept at a lower cost by the fact that it merely adds extended coverage for services like dental, health, and mental OC TOBER 2019
